Professional cleaning services are one of the few growth areas to have come out of Covid and the pandemic. While many firms collapsed, cleaning services were often in demand as businesses had to adhere to stricter health and safety rules.
Tenants and landlords also use professional cleaning services, notably at the end of tenancies. Recent years have seen more people renting in the UK than before. So, it stands to reason then that the professional cleaning sector would grow to meet this demand too.
According to the ICTSD, the UK cleaning market was predicted to have had around 66,000 professional businesses by 2020. This sector provided nearly $55 billion to the UK economy too back in 2018, before the pandemic started. It is clearly much larger now, especially as businesses have reopened.
When it comes to end of tenancy cleans though, why are they now more popular, and what’s the main reason for using one?
Why do you need to clean a home at the end of a contract?
The simplest answer to this may be because it is good manners. Leaving a property in the same condition that you found it in, is simply good etiquette. Also, it might be in the tenancy agreement too.
If you rent a property, you will most likely sign some form of a tenancy agreement. This will have certain stipulations including being responsible for damages and leaving the home clean at the end of the contract.
One of the simplest ways to avoid landlord disputes is to leave the property ready for the next tenants to move in. Obviously, landlords need to make their homes fit for habitation, so either you clean it, or they will. If they do it, it will be you paying for it.
What are the most common reasons for a tenant and landlord dispute today?
There have been disputes between tenants and landlords for centuries, and they will probably continue to. The most common causes can be due to late rent payments, noise, clashing personalities, landlords not adhering to their side of the agreement, and one other area.
The most common reason for a landlord/tenant dispute is over cleanliness. According to Landlord Zone, the number one reason for tenancy agreement disputes is over the cleanliness of the property, and they account for more than half of all complaints.
The result of these complaints is that there could be deductions from the tenancy deposit. Trying to get the tenancy deposit returned in full, therefore, is the number one reason to perform an end-of-tenancy clean. Leaving the home unclean is a sure-fire way to end up in a dispute over a deposit. Professional end of tenancy cleaning services in Reading often recommend paying attention to the usual spots that a landlord would check to deduct from your deposit.
Is it necessary to hire professional services for an end-of-tenancy clean?
It might not be necessary to call in professionals to perform a move-out clean, but many people do today.
Using end-of-tenancy cleaners in London for example means that you don’t need to take time off from work, or spend hours scouring the home yourself.
If you decide not to use a professional move-out cleaning firm, then when it comes to the landlord’s inspection, you will possibly be more open to criticism. Of course, you may be perfectly capable of cleaning the home to the landlord’s satisfaction, but you may not be able to carry out all the tasks to the correct standard.
What do professional cleaners do that you may not?
There were many reasons why it was vital for businesses to hire professional cleaners during a pandemic, and one of them was deep cleaning, and another was sanitising.
Professional cleaning services should clean a home to a different level than the average person would. Deep steam cleans for upholstery and carpets will be impossible for anyone without the right equipment. And most people won’t sanitise surfaces after the cleaning has taken place.
Perhaps not all services are necessary, but professional cleaners will be more experienced in performing move-out cleans. A quick search on the net will reveal many companies who offer a specialist en-of-tenancy cleaning service, catered towards the tenant receiving their deposit back.
If you use a professional cleaning service, will you see your deposit again?
There is no guarantee here, but if you choose one that is experienced in end-of-tenancy cleans, then you should be improving your chances.
An established move-out cleaning firm should understand exactly what is required when performing this type of clean. They will be used to feedback from tenants after the landlord carried out their inspection, so their experience could prove critical to you receiving your tenancy deposit back.
They may also offer some form of guarantee on the quality of their cleaning service. This is reassuring knowing that if you have paid for a clean that you aren’t satisfied with, you can have them return once more.
What happens if you don’t perform an end-of-tenancy clean?
The clearest outcome would be that the landlord would refuse to pass the tenancy deposit back to you. Although the deposit should by law be held in a protection scheme, a landlord can still dispute the amount that has to be returned.
Normally, you should receive the deposit back within ten days of both sides being satisfied with any deductions being made. A dispute can drag this time on though. If you want your deposit back in a timely fashion, you should either perform a proper move-out clean, hire a firm to do it for you, or agree with the landlord an amount for him to organise the clean.
Summary
The number one reason for carrying out an end-of-tenancy clean should actually be because it is good manners. However, the real reason is more likely to be to avoid disputes and to get hold of that tenancy deposit again.
Professional services will cost money but landlords often try to claim even more if they have to perform cleans themselves. It is said that the majority of disputes over cleaning ended with an inflated bill from the landlord. This is likely to be because of the inconvenience that has been caused. To avoid this, simply perform a proper clean, or hire a professional cleaning firm instead.
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